WhatsApp has introduced an option for small businesses in India to sign up for a meta-verified badge; the move also unlocks the capability of the business to send personalised messages to customers.
India has over 65 million small and medium-sized businesses, but only about 5 million sell products online, according to a joint report by Meta and Bain & Company from May. The company aims to tap into this market opportunity by popularising WhatsApp Business, the app with which most Indians communicate today, and is also becoming the favourite channel for small businesses to speak with customers.
It said that meta-verified subscriptions grant WhatsApp Business subscribers features such as the ability to create custom WhatsApp pages that are searchable on the web, support for multiple devices, and the ability to have multiple employee accounts. 
Meta-verified for WhatsApp Business is available for an Indian audience at approximately $8, or about ₹639, per month.
Also, besides meta-verified, small businesses on WhatsApp Business can now schedule and send personalised messages—appointment reminders, birthday wishes, or sale notifications, for instance—to customers for less than one rupee per message. Businesses will be able to add customer names and send the ability to send customisable call-to-action buttons.
Last year in September, Meta launched its verification program exclusively for business accounts on both Instagram and Facebook.
WhatsApp is starting what it has titled “WhatsApp Business Yatra,” or a WhatsApp Business tour in Hindi. This will see the company tour tier-2 and tier-3 cities across the country in a bid to promote the service to small businesses while offering in-person training.
“The initiative will entail the training of setting up WhatsApp Business accounts for small businesses, developing catalogues, and training them on how to create ads that link to WhatsApp, among other useful skills.” The company said, “We will also create a resource centre on our website that will become a one-stop tutorial hub for such businesses.”
